Crown for an electronic watch

ABSTRACT

An electronic watch includes a housing defining a side surface of the electronic watch, a transparent cover coupled to the housing and defining a front surface of the electronic watch, an image-sensing element, and a crown extending from the side of the housing and defining an imaging surface. The crown may include a light-directing feature configured to direct, onto the image-sensing element, an image of an object in contact with the imaging surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a nonprovisional patent application of and claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/713,745, filedAug. 2, 2018 and titled “Crown for an Electronic Watch,” the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to electronic devices, andmore particularly to a crown for a wearable electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices frequently use physical input devices to facilitateuser interaction. For example, buttons, keys, dials, and the like can bephysically manipulated by users to control operations of the device.Physical input devices may use various types of sensing mechanisms totranslate the physical manipulation to signals usable by the electronicdevice. For example, buttons and keys may use collapsible dome switchesto detect presses, while dials and other rotating input devices may useencoders or resolvers to detect rotational movements.

SUMMARY

An electronic watch includes a housing defining a side surface of theelectronic watch, a transparent cover coupled to the housing anddefining a front surface of the electronic watch, an image-sensingelement, and a crown extending from the side of the housing and definingan imaging surface. The crown may include a light-directing featureconfigured to direct, onto the image-sensing element, an image of anobject in contact with the imaging surface.

The electronic watch may further include a display positioned at leastpartially within the housing, and a touch sensor positioned below thetransparent cover and configured to detect touch inputs applied to thetransparent cover. The crown may include a head having alight-transmissive portion defining the imaging surface, and alight-transmissive shaft configured to receive light from thelight-directing feature. The light-transmissive portion of the head maybe transparent to infrared radiation and opaque to visible light. Thelight-transmissive shaft may be configured to guide the light to theimage-sensing element. The head and the light-transmissive shaft may beportions of a monolithic light-transmissive member.

The light-directing feature may include an interface between a firstmaterial and a second material, the interface configured to reflectincident light. The first material may be a light-transmissive solid,and the second material may be air. The interface between the firstmaterial and the second material may be at least partially defined by anangled surface, and the angled surface may cause the incident light tobe reflected towards the image-sensing element.

A wearable electronic device may include a housing, a display positionedat least partially within the housing, a crown at least partiallyexternal to the housing and defining an imaging surface along aperipheral portion of the crown, and an image-sensing element within thehousing and configured to receive an image of an object in contact withthe imaging surface. The imaging surface may be defined by asemi-transparent mirror coating.

The crown may include a light-transmissive member defining an angledsurface configured to direct light from the imaging surface to theimage-sensing element. The angled surface may have an angle configuredto produce total internal reflection of the light. The wearableelectronic device may further include a reflective material applied tothe angled surface.

The light-transmissive member may at least partially define a head ofthe crown and a shaft of the crown. The wearable electronic device mayfurther include a light source at least partially within the housing andconfigured to illuminate the object.

An electronic watch may include a housing, a display positioned at leastpartially within the housing, an image sensor at least partially withinthe housing and comprising an image-sensing element, and a crown. Thecrown may include a head portion defining an imaging surface external tothe housing, a shaft portion extending at least partially into thehousing, and a reflective feature directing light from the imagingsurface through the shaft portion and towards the image-sensing element.The electronic watch may further include a transparent cover coveringthe display and a sensor configured to detect touch events applied tothe transparent cover.

The reflective feature may include a curved surface configured tomagnify an image of an object in contact with the imaging surface. Thecurved surface may define an interface between the head portion and air.

The crown may further include a cover member coupled to an end of thehead portion. The head portion may define a cylindrical peripheralsurface, and a peripheral surface of the cover member may be flush withthe cylindrical peripheral surface of the head portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIGS. 1A-1B depict an example wearable electronic device;

FIGS. 2A-2B depict an example wearable electronic device being used;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown with a light-directing feature;

FIG. 4A depicts an example wearable electronic device in a state of use;

FIG. 4B depicts an example image-sensing element corresponding to thestate of use in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 4C depicts an example wearable electronic device in another stateof use;

FIG. 4D depicts an example image-sensing element corresponding to thestate of use in FIG. 4C;

FIG. 5A depicts an example wearable electronic device in a state of use;

FIG. 5B depicts an example image-sensing element corresponding to thestate of use in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C depicts an example wearable electronic device in another stateof use;

FIG. 5D depicts an example image-sensing element corresponding to thestate of use in FIG. 5C;

FIG. 6A is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown with a light-directing feature;

FIG. 6B depicts an example image-sensing element of the wearableelectronic device of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown with a curved light-directing feature;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown that does not include a shaft;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown with a cover member;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of an example wearableelectronic device having a crown with a light-directing feature and aforce sensor;

FIGS. 11A-11B are side views of example wearable electronic devices withcrowns having imaging surfaces; and

FIG. 12 depicts example components of a wearable electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following description is not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

The embodiments herein are generally directed to a crown of a wearableelectronic device, such as an electronic watch (also referred to as asmart watch), and more particularly to a crown that includes an opticalsensing system to detect user interactions with the crown. For example,users may interact with a crown by rotating the crown or, in the case ofa crown that is rotationally constrained, sliding a finger over asurface of the crown. In order to sense the motion of the user's finger,a crown as described herein may include a window on the part of thecrown that the user touches when interacting with the crown. The windowmay allow an image of the user's finger to be captured by an imagesensor that is positioned within the housing. The image sensor, whichmay include an image-sensing element (e.g., a charge-coupled device(CCD)) in conjunction with associated processors and other componentswithin the electronic watch, may determine how the user's finger hasmoved and control the operation of the electronic watch accordingly. Forexample, the watch may determine a speed and a direction of motion ofthe user's finger (or other suitable parameter), and cause a graphicaloutput that is displayed on the watch's display to move at a speed andalong a direction that is indicated by the detected motion.

As used herein, an image may refer to an optical representation of anobject, which may be produced, transmitted, or propagated by lenses,mirrors, or the like. An image may be captured and stored, by an imagesensor, as a multidimensional array having pixels that represent a smallportion of the image formed on the image sensor. The multidimensionalarray may be stored as a single frame (e.g., a photograph) or a seriesof frames (e.g., a video). In order to detect motion using the image(e.g., the stored image), the image sensor may analyze multiple framesto determine, for example, a speed and direction of one or more featuresin the image. The features that are analyzed may include features of auser's skin (e.g., fingerprints, hair follicles), or any other opticallydetectable feature, texture, surface irregularity, image, or the like,of any object. In this way, the device may be responsive to skin (e.g.,the skin of a user's finger or hand), a stylus, a gloved finger, or anyother suitable object with optically detectable features. As usedherein, analysis of an image by an image sensor and/or other componentsof an electronic device may refer to an analysis of a stored image(e.g., the stored multidimensional array, which may be a digitalphotograph or a video).

To facilitate capturing an image of the user's finger (or otherimplement used to interact with the crown), the crown may includelight-transmissive materials and light-directing features that directlight (corresponding to an image of the user's finger) through the crownand onto an image-sensing element of an image sensor. For example, aperipheral surface of the crown (e.g., the cylindrical peripheralsurface that a user touches to rotate the crown) may belight-transmissive, and the crown may have a reflecting feature todirect light from the peripheral surface onto the image-sensing element.In one such example, the crown may include a monolithiclight-transmissive member that defines both a head portion and a shaftportion of the crown, as well as an angled surface that causes light(e.g., the light corresponding to an image of the user's finger) to bereflected at an approximately 90 degree angle so that the light may bedirected through the shaft and into an enclosure of the watch. Moreparticularly, when a user places a finger on the peripheral surface ofthe head, the light corresponding to an image of the user's finger maybe initially directed into the head along a radial direction (relativeto the cylindrical peripheral surface of the head). However, animage-sensing element may be within the housing along an axial directionof the head. Accordingly, the head may have an angled surface formedinto the material that effectively changes the direction of the light(e.g., reflects or otherwise redirects the light) so that the light isdirected along the axis of the crown and into the watch. In this way,the image of the user's finger (or other implement or object) isdirected onto an image-sensing element within the watch, allowing thewatch to analyze the image and control the operation of the deviceaccordingly.

The optical crown system described herein may be used with both freelyrotatable crowns (e.g., crowns that can rotate about an axis anindefinite number of turns) as well as rotationally constrained crowns.As used herein, a “rotationally constrained” crown or component refersto a component that is not free to rotate more than a full revolutionunder normal use conditions (e.g., when manipulated by the hands of aperson). Thus, rotationally constrained components include bothrotationally fixed components and partially rotatable components.

In the case of a rotationally constrained crown, if a user attempts torotate the crown to operate the device, the crown may not physicallyrotate. Instead, the user's fingers may slide along a surface of thecrown while the crown remains stationary. As used herein, a finger orobject “sliding” along a surface may refer to the finger (or otherobject) moving along the surface of the crown while the finger (or otherobject) is in contact with the surface. In the case of a rotating crown,as the user's finger moves forward to rotate the crown, the part of theuser's finger that is touching the crown changes. In either case, as theuser's finger moves, the image that is projected or incident on theimage-sensing element may include a moving image of the surface of theuser's finger. The image sensor may analyze the movement of the image todetermine how to manipulate the graphical output or other property ofthe watch. The image sensor may use features of the user's skin, such asthe ridges of the user's skin (or any other texture or opticallydetectable feature), to determine the speed and direction of motion.

Advantageously, the crown described herein can detect inputs even underconditions when other types of touch sensors may fail. For example, sometouch-sensing technologies use capacitive sensors to detect touch eventsor inputs. The effectiveness of capacitive sensors may be reduced,however, by gloves, clothing, overly wet or dry skin, lotions, or thelike. By detecting motion via images, the optical sensing structuresdescribed herein may avoid such negative effects and may operateeffectively over a broader range of conditions and may sense movement ofobjects other than bare skin.

FIGS. 1A-1B depict an electronic device 100. The electronic device 100is depicted as an electronic watch, though this is merely one exampleembodiment of an electronic device and the concepts discussed herein mayapply equally or by analogy to other electronic devices, includingmobile phones (e.g., smartphones), tablet computers, notebook computers,head-mounted displays, digital media players (e.g., mp3 players), or thelike.

The electronic device 100 includes a housing 102 and a band 104 coupledto the housing. The band 104 may be configured to attach the electronicdevice 100 to a user, such as to the user's arm or wrist.

The electronic device 100 also includes a transparent cover 108 coupledto the housing 102. The cover 108 may define a front face of theelectronic device 100. For example, in some cases, the cover 108 definessubstantially the entire front face and/or front surface of theelectronic device. The cover 108 may also define an input surface of thedevice 100. For example, as described herein, the device 100 may includetouch and/or force sensors that detect inputs applied to the cover 108.The cover 108 may be formed from or include glass, sapphire, a polymer,a dielectric, or any other suitable material.

The cover 108 may cover at least part of a display 109 that ispositioned at least partially within the housing 102. The display 109may define an output region in which graphical outputs are displayed.Graphical outputs may include graphical user interfaces, user interfaceelements (e.g., buttons, sliders, etc.), text, lists, photographs,videos, or the like. The display 109 may include a liquid-crystaldisplay (LCD), organic light emitting diode display (OLED), or any othersuitable components or display technology.

The display 109 may include or be associated with touch sensors and/orforce sensors that extend along the output region of the display andwhich may use any suitable sensing elements and/or sensing techniques.Using touch sensors, the device 100 may detect touch inputs applied tothe cover 108, including detecting locations of touch inputs, motions oftouch inputs (e.g., the speed, direction, or other parameters of agesture applied to the cover 108), or the like. Using force sensors, thedevice 100 may detect amounts or magnitudes of force associated withtouch events applied to the cover 108. The touch and/or force sensorsmay detect various types of user inputs to control or modify theoperation of the device, including taps, swipes, multi-finger inputs,single- or multi-finger touch gestures, presses, and the like. Touchand/or force sensors usable with wearable electronic devices, such asthe device 100, are described herein with respect to FIG. 12.

The electronic device 100 also includes a crown 112 having a head,protruding portion, or component(s) or feature(s) positioned along aside surface of the housing 102. At least a portion of the crown 112 mayprotrude from the housing 102, and may define a generally circular shapeor a circular exterior surface. The exterior surface of the crown 112may be textured, knurled, grooved, or may otherwise have features thatmay improve the tactile feel of the crown 112 and/or facilitate rotationsensing. The exterior surface of the crown 112 may also have one or morelight-transmissive areas, such as a light-transmissive window, thatdefine one or more imaging surfaces. An imaging surface may refer to asurface that allows an image to be captured of an object (e.g., afinger) that is touching that surface. For example, a light-transmissivewindow may allow an image to be captured, through the window, of afinger that is in contact with the window. Accordingly, thelight-transmissive window may define an imaging surface.

The imaging surface or surfaces may enable the device 100 to capture animage of the user's finger while the finger is interacting with thecrown 112 (e.g., in order to determine input parameters such as a speedand direction of an input, as described herein). The light-transmissiveareas may be transparent to some wavelengths of light and substantiallyopaque to others. For example, if the device 100 uses infrared imagingto capture an image of the user's finger, the light-transmissive areasmay be transparent to infrared wavelengths while being opaque to visiblelight.

The crown 112 may afford a variety of potential user interactions. Forexample, the crown 112 may be rotationally constrained (e.g.,rotationally fixed or partially rotatable), and may include or beassociated with sensors that detect when a user slides one or morefingers along a surface of the crown 112 in a movement that resemblesrotating the crown 112 (or that would result in rotation of a freelyrotating crown). More particularly, where the crown 112 is rotationallyfixed or rotationally constrained, a user input that resembles atwisting or rotating motion may not actually result in any substantialphysical rotation that can be detected for the purposes of registeringan input. Rather, the user's fingers (or other object) will move in amanner that resembles twisting, turning, or rotating, but does notactually continuously rotate the crown 112. As another example gesturethat may be detected, a user attempting to rotate a rotationally fixedcrown by applying a substantially tangential force to a surface of thecrown 112 (as shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, for example) may also result in asliding gesture along a surface of the crown 112. Thus, in the case of arotationally fixed or constrained crown 112, an image sensor within thedevice 100 may detect inputs that result from a gesture that has thesame motion as (and thus may feel and look the same as or similar to)rotating a rotatable crown.

In some cases, the crown 112 may be rotationally free or may include arotationally free member that is free to rotate relative to the housing102. More particularly, the rotationally free member may have norotational constraints, and thus may be capable of being rotatedindefinitely (or a sufficiently large number of turns that a user doesnot typically reach a hard-stop under normal use conditions). Even wherethe crown 112 or a portion thereof can rotate, the crown 112 may beconfigured so that light reflected from the user's finger is directedfrom an imaging surface of the crown 112 onto an image-sensing elementwithin the housing 102.

Thus, both rotationally constrained and rotationally free crowns maydetect gestures resembling a twisting, turning, or rotating motion,regardless of whether the crown rotates or not. As used herein, atwisting, turning, or rotating motion applied to a crown may be referredto as a gesture input or a rotational input (even if the crown itselfdoes not physically rotate).

In cases where the crown 112, or a member or component of the crown 112,is capable of some rotation, it may rotate about a rotation axis (e.g.,it may rotate as indicated by arrow 103 in FIG. 1A). The crown 112, or amember or component of the crown 112, may also be translatable relativeto the housing 102 to accept axial inputs. For example, the crown 112may be movable or translatable along the rotation axis, towards and/oraway from the housing 102 (as indicated by arrow 105 in FIG. 1A). Thecrown 112 may therefore be manipulated by pushing and/or pulling on thecrown 112.

The crown 112 may be able to translate any suitable distance. Forexample, a crown 112 may include a dome switch to register axial inputs,and the crown 112 may move a sufficient distance to facilitate physicalactuation of the dome switch. In other cases, such as where a forcesensor is used to detect axial inputs, the crown 112 may move asufficient distance to facilitate force sensing. The distance that thecrown 112 can translate or move may be any suitable distance, such asabout 1 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.05 mm or any other suitabledistance.

Alternatively, the crown 112 may be fixed or otherwise substantiallynon-translatable. In such cases, axial inputs applied to the crown 112may be detected in other ways. For example, the crown 112 may include orbe part of a contact sensor (described more fully below), such as acapacitive or resistive touch sensor, that determines when andoptionally where a user's finger is in contact with the crown 112. Thecrown 112 may also use an optical sensing scheme to detect axial inputs.For example, as noted above, the crown 112 or a portion of the crown maybe light-transmissive to allow light (corresponding to an image of theuser's finger) to be directed from a peripheral surface of a head ontoan image-sensing element. To facilitate axial input sensing, the crown112 may also define an optical path from an end 113 of the crown 112 toan image-sensing element so that the image sensor can determine when auser's finger (or other object) is in contact with the end 113 of thecrown 112.

The device 100 may include a force sensor to detect axial forces thatare applied to the crown 112. The force sensor may include or use anysuitable force sensing components and may use any suitable technique forsensing force inputs. For example, a force sensor may include a strainsensor, capacitive gap sensor, or other force sensitive structure thatis configured to produce an electrical response that corresponds to anamount of force (e.g., axial force) applied to the crown 112. Theelectrical response may increase continuously as the amount of appliedforce increases, and as such may provide non-binary force sensing.Accordingly, the force sensor may determine, based on the electricalresponse of the force sensing components, one or more properties of theapplied force associated with a touch input (e.g., a magnitude of theapplied axial force).

As described herein, gesture inputs (e.g., rotational-style inputsapplied to a rotationally free or rotationally constrained crown) andaxial inputs (e.g., translations or axial forces) may control variousoperations and user interfaces of the electronic device 100. Inparticular, inputs to the crown 112 may modify the graphical output ofthe display 109. For example, a rotational movement of the crown 112 ora gesture applied to the crown 112 may zoom, scroll, or rotate a userinterface or other object displayed on the display 109 (among otherpossible functions), while translational movements or axial inputs mayselect highlighted objects or icons, cause a user interface to return toa previous menu or display, or activate or deactivate functions (amongother possible functions).

The crown 112 may also be associated with or include a contact sensorthat is configured to detect contact between a user and the crown 112(e.g., touch inputs or touch events applied to the crown 112). Thecontact sensor may detect even non-moving contacts between the user andthe crown 112 (e.g., when the user touches the crown 112 but does notrotate the crown or apply a sliding gesture to the crown 112). Contactsensing functionality may be provided by the same optical sensing systemthat also detects gestures (e.g., a finger sliding along a surface of acrown or the housing), or it may be provided by a separate sensor. Thecontact sensor may include or use any suitable type of sensor(s),including capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, magnetic sensors,inductive sensors, optical sensors, or the like. In some cases, thecrown 112 itself, or components of the crown, may be conductive and maydefine a conductive path between the user (e.g., the user's finger) anda contact sensor. For example, the crown may be formed from or includemetal, and may itself act as an electrode for conductively coupling acapacitive sensor to the user.

The device 100 may also include one or more haptic actuators that areconfigured to produce a tactile output through the crown 112. Forexample, the haptic actuator may be coupled to the crown 112 and may beconfigured to impart a force to the crown 112. The force may cause thecrown 112 to move (e.g., to oscillate or vibrate translationally and/orrotationally, or to otherwise move to produce a tactile output), whichmay be detectable by a user when the user is contacting the crown 112.The haptic actuator may produce tactile output by moving the crown 112in any suitable way. For example, the crown 112 (or a component thereof)may be rotated (e.g., rotated in a single direction, rotationallyoscillated, or the like), translated (e.g., moved along a single axis),or pivoted (e.g., rocked about a pivot point). In other cases, thehaptic actuator may produce tactile outputs using other techniques, suchas by imparting a force to the housing 102 (e.g., to produce anoscillation, vibration, impulse, or other motion), which may beperceptible to a user through the crown 112 and/or through othersurfaces of the device 100, such as the cover 108, the housing 102, orthe like. Any suitable type of haptic actuator and/or technique forproducing tactile output may be used to produce these or other types oftactile outputs, including electrostatics, piezoelectric actuators,oscillating or rotating masses, ultrasonic actuators, reluctance forceactuators, voice coil motors, Lorentz force actuators, or the like. Insome cases, haptic outputs may be produced by collapsible domes,springs, or other mechanical components.

Tactile outputs may be used for various purposes. For example, tactileoutputs may be produced when a user presses the crown 112 (e.g., appliesan axial force to the crown 112) to indicate that the device 100 hasregistered the press as an input to the device 100. As another example,tactile outputs may be used to provide feedback when the device 100detects a rotation of the crown 112 or a gesture being applied to thecrown 112. For example, a tactile output may produce a repetitive“click” sensation as the user rotates the crown 112 or applies a gestureto the crown 112. Tactile outputs may be used for other purposes aswell.

The electronic device 100 may also include other inputs, switches,buttons, or the like. For example, the electronic device 100 includes abutton 110. The button 110 may be a movable button (as depicted) or atouch-sensitive region of the housing 102. The button 110 may controlvarious aspects of the electronic device 100. For example, the button110 may be used to select icons, items, or other objects displayed onthe display 109, to activate or deactivate functions (e.g., to silencean alarm or alert), or the like.

FIGS. 2A-2B show a front and side view, respectively, of a device 200during one example use condition. The device 200 may be an embodiment ofthe device 100, and may include the same or similar components and mayprovide the same or similar functions as the device 100. Accordingly,details of the device 100 described above may apply to the device 200,and for brevity will not be repeated here.

In the example shown in FIGS. 2A-2B, the wearable device 200 includes acrown 212 that a user may contact to provide input through the crown212. The crown 212 may define an imaging surface 216 that is positionedin a location where a user is likely to touch the crown 212 wheninteracting with and/or providing input to the crown 212. In some cases,the imaging surface 216 may extend around the entire peripheral portionor surface of the crown 212. Thus, the crown 212 and an associated imagesensor may detect inputs applied to any part of the periphery of thecrown 212. In other cases, the imaging surface 216 may extend along lessthan the entire periphery of the crown 212.

The imaging surface 216, which may be defined by a light-transmissiveportion of the crown 212, may in optical communication with animage-sensing element within the device 200 to facilitate the imagesensor capturing and analyzing an image of whatever object is in contactwith the imaging surface 216 (e.g., a bare finger, a gloved finger). Forexample, the crown 212 may include a light-directing feature, such as anangled surface that changes the direction of the light that correspondsto an image of the object so that it is incident on the image-sensingelement. In some cases, the crown 212 includes a monolithiclight-transmissive member that defines the imaging surface 216, a shaftof the crown 212, as well as a light-directing feature to redirect lightdown the shaft of the crown and towards the image-sensing element.

FIGS. 2A-2B show a user interacting with the crown 212 to provide aninput to the device 200. In the case of a rotationally constrainedcrown, the crown will not continuously rotate in response to the forceapplied by the finger 201 moving along the direction indicated by arrow217 (while the finger is in contact with the crown 212). Rather, thefinger 201 will slide along a surface of the crown 212. In the case of arotationally free crown, the force applied to the crown 212 by theuser's finger 201 causes the crown 212 (or a head or other component ofthe crown 212) to rotate relative to the housing 202. In either case, animage of the user's finger 201 is projected or otherwise incident on theimage-sensing element within the device 200, and the image sensordetects the movement of the finger 201 sliding along the imaging surface216 and causes the device 200 to take an action in response to therotation. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, upon detection of the motionof the finger 201, the device 200 may cause a graphical output 207 on adisplay 209 to move in accordance with the movement of the finger 201. Amovement of the finger 201 in the direction indicated by arrow 217 mayresult in the graphical output 207 moving in the direction indicated byarrow 215. A movement of the finger 201 in the opposite direction mayresult in the graphical output 207 moving in the opposite direction.Rotating the crown 212 or sliding a finger along a surface of the crown212 may change other operational properties of the device 200 inaddition to or instead of scrolling a graphical output 207. For example,sliding a finger along the surface of the crown 212 may changeparameters or settings of the device, control a zoom level of agraphical output, rotate a displayed graphical output, translate adisplayed graphical output, change a brightness level of a graphicaloutput, change a time setting, scroll a list of displayed items (e.g.,numbers, letters, words, images, icons, or other graphical output), orthe like.

In some cases, the graphical output 207 may also be responsive to inputsapplied to a touch-sensitive display 208. The touch-sensitive display208 may include or be associated with one or more touch and/or forcesensors that extend along an output region of a display and which mayuse any suitable sensing elements and/or sensing techniques to detecttouch and/or force inputs applied to the touch-sensitive display 208.The same or similar graphical output 207 manipulations that are producedin response to inputs applied to the crown 212 may also be produced inresponse to inputs applied to the touch-sensitive display 208. Forexample, a swipe gesture applied to the touch-sensitive display 208 maycause the graphical output 207 to move along the direction indicated bythe arrow 215 (FIG. 2A). As another example, a tap gesture applied tothe touch-sensitive display 208 may cause an affordance to be selectedor activated. In this way, a user may have multiple different ways tointeract with and control an electronic watch, and in particular thegraphical output 207 of an electronic watch. Further, while the crown212 may provide overlapping functionality with the touch-sensitivedisplay 208, using the crown allows for the graphical output of thedisplay to be visible (without being blocked by the finger that isproviding the touch input).

FIG. 3 is a partial cross section of an electronic device 400,corresponding to a view along line A-A in FIG. 1B. The device 300 may bean embodiment of the device 100, and may include the same or similarcomponents and may provide the same or similar functions as the device100 (or any other wearable device described herein). Accordingly,details of the wearable device 100 described above may apply to thedevice 300, and for brevity will not be repeated here.

The device 300 includes a crown 312 positioned along a side of a housing302. The crown 312 may include a head portion or head 313 and a shaftportion or shaft 315. The head 313 and the shaft 315 may be a singlemonolithic component, as shown, or they may be separate componentsjoined together (e.g., via adhesive, a threaded interface, fasteners,clips, rivets, fusion bonding, or the like). Where the head 313 andshaft 315 are separate components, index matching fluid or material maybe used to occupy voids or gaps between the head 313 and shaft 315 (orbetween any other components of a crown 312).

The head 313 and the shaft 315 may be formed of or include alight-transmissive material, which may define an imaging surface 316.For example, head 313 and/or the shaft 315 may be formed from alight-transmissive solid such as an acrylic, glass, transparent ceramic,sapphire, polycarbonate, quartz, or another suitable material. The solidlight-transmissive material may be optically transparent (e.g., clearand uncolored), or it may be transparent some wavelengths of light andopaque (or substantially opaque) to others. For example, if the deviceuses infrared imaging to capture an image of the user's finger, thelight-transmissive areas may be transparent to infrared wavelengthswhile being opaque to visible light. In some cases, thelight-transmissive material of the crown 312 may be coated or otherwisetreated so that it is visually opaque. For example, a semi-transparentmirror coating may be applied to an otherwise transparent orlight-transmissive material. This may allow the crown 312 to appear, tothe wearer, to be opaque and/or metallic, while still allowing lightreflected by the portion of the user's finger 301 that is in contactwith the crown 312 to enter the crown 312 through the imaging surface316. As another example, a visibly opaque but infrared-transparentpaint, film, ink, or other coating or material may be applied to thecrown 312 (and in particular the imaging surface 316) to provide avisually opaque appearance while still facilitating optical imaging ofthe user's finger 301. As used herein, light-transmissive may be used torefer to something that is transparent or otherwise allows light and/orimages to propagate therethrough. In some cases, transparent orlight-transmissive materials or components may introduce some diffusion,lensing effects, filtering effects (e.g., color filtering), distortions,attenuation, or the like (e.g., due to surface textures) while stillallowing objects or images to be seen or transmitted through thematerials or components, and such deviations are understood to be withinthe scope of the meaning of transparent or light-transmissive. Moreover,components such as a crown, shaft, or head that are formed of or includelight-transmissive materials and that function as described herein maybe referred to as, for example, a light-transmissive crown, alight-transmissive shaft, and a light-transmissive head.

The device 300 also includes an image-sensing element 324 within thehousing 302 and positioned adjacent an end of the shaft 315. An image ofthe user's finger 301 may be directed onto the image-sensing element 324so that the image can be captured and analyzed to determine inputparameters of an input gesture applied to the crown 312. Theimage-sensing element 324 may be positioned on a support 322 as shown inFIG. 3, though other mounting and/or support structures are alsocontemplated.

The image-sensing element 324 is one example of an optical sensingelement that may be used. In particular, the image-sensing element 324may be an optical sensing element with multiple pixels or other sensingregions that capture individual portions of an image, and allow theimage sensor (or other optical sensor) to detect and/or storephotographs, videos, and the like. In other cases, however, one or moreother optical sensing elements may be used, such as photodiodes,single-pixel sensors, photovoltaic cells, or the like. In such cases,the optical sensing element(s) may detect changes in light caused by thepresence and/or motion of an object relative to the imaging surface 316of the crown 312, and may cause the device 300 to take actions based onthe detected inputs (including but not limited to controlling any userinterface animations or other device functions described herein).

As noted above, the imaging surface 316 is not directly in line with theimage-sensing element 324. Accordingly, the crown 312 may include alight-directing feature 326 that directs light corresponding to theimage of the user's finger from the imaging surface onto theimage-sensing element 324. As shown in FIG. 3, the light-directingfeature 326 includes an angled surface of the light-transmissivematerial of the crown 312. The angled surface defines an interfacebetween materials having different optical indices (e.g., thelight-transmissive material and a different material, such as air). Whenthe light corresponding to an image of the user's finger 301 is incidenton the interface defined by the angled surface (as represented by arrow319), all or part of the light may be reflected at an angle (e.g., a 90degree angle) towards the image-sensing element 324. For example, theangled surface may direct the light (e.g., by causing the light to bereflected) through the shaft 315 of the crown, which may also belight-transmissive. Thus, the shaft 315 guides the reflected lighttowards the image-sensing element 324 (as indicated by arrow 321). Incases where the light-directing feature 326 reflects light towards theimage-sensing element 324, it may be referred to as a reflectivefeature.

The particular angle of the angled surface may be selected based onvarious factors, such as the optical properties of thelight-transmissive material, the position of the image-sensing element324 relative to the imaging surface 316, the degree of reflectancedesired, and the like. In some cases, the angle of the angled surfacehas an angle configured to produce total internal reflection of thelight. For example, the angled surface may be configured so that theangle of incidence 327 of the light from the object on the imagingsurface 316 is equal to or greater than the critical angle for thecrown/air interface defined by the angled surface. This configurationmay produce total internal reflection of the incident light. Moreparticularly, all of the light reflected by the user's finger 301towards the light-directing feature 326 may be reflected by thecrown/air interface defined by the angled surface.

The angle and/or shape of the light-directing feature 326 that resultsin total internal reflection may depend, for example, on the geometryand material(s) of the crown 312, the relative angles of the imagingsurface 316 and the axis of the shaft 315, and the material that is incontact with the angled surface (air, as shown in FIG. 3). In the casewhere the crown 312, or the optically operative portions of the crown312, is acrylic, the critical angle may be about 41 degrees.Accordingly, the light-directing feature 326 may be configured so thatthe angle of incidence 327 is equal to or greater than about 41 degrees(e.g., about 41 degrees, about 45 degrees, about 50 degrees). In somecases, the angle of incidence on the light-directing feature 326 may beless than the critical angle, in which case some of the light that formsthe image may be transmitted through the angled surface, rather thanbeing reflected along the shaft 315. This may be acceptable, as it maynot be necessary to achieve total internal reflection. In particular,the light that is reflected by the light-directing feature 326 andincident on the image-sensing element 324 (even though it is less thanall of the light being reflected by the user's finger) may be sufficientto allow the image sensor to analyze the image and ultimately detect theinput.

In some cases, the exterior surface of the light-directing feature 326includes a coating, film, or other material or treatment that increasesthe reflectivity of the imaging directing feature. For example, a mirrorcoating (or other reflective material) may be applied to the exteriorsurface of the light-directing feature 326. In such cases, it may not benecessary for the angle of incidence to be at or greater than a criticalangle, as the mirror coating may ensure that all or substantially all ofthe light forming the image is reflected along the shaft or otherwisetowards an image-sensing element.

As described herein, the imaging surface 316 of the crown 312 may extendaround the entire periphery of the head 313. In such cases, thelight-directing feature 326 may have a generally circular configurationso that the light-directing feature 326 directs the light correspondingto the image of the user's finger (or other object or implement) towardsthe image-sensing element 324 no matter where the finger contacts theperiphery of the head 313. For example, the light-directing feature 326may resemble a conical recess in the end of the head 313. Arrows 323 and325 in FIG. 3 show an example light path for an object in contact with abottom portion of the head 313. Due to the radial symmetry of the head313 and the light-directing feature 326, these arrows may be generallyrepresentative of a light path for an object in contact with any portionof the peripheral surface of the head 313. In cases where the imagingsurface 316 does not extend around the entire periphery of the head 313,the light-directing feature 326 need not be circular, though it maystill have the circular configuration.

Where the imaging surface 316 extends around the entire periphery of thehead 313, an image of a user's wrist (which may be proximate to thebottom portion of the peripheral surface of the head 313) may bedirected onto the image-sensing element 324 when the device is beingworn. To avoid the image of the user's wrist causing false inputs to thedevice, the image sensor may ignore images received via the bottomsurface of the head 313 under certain conditions. For example, if theonly received or detected image is received via the bottom surface ofthe head 313, the device 300 may ignore the image, as users are unlikelyto turn the crown 312 by touching only the bottom surface (e.g., in thesmall area between the crown and the wearer's wrist). As anotherexample, skin patterns or characteristics may differ between a wrist anda finger, and the device 300 may ignore any image that does not containcharacteristics of the skin of a finger.

In order to illuminate the finger 301 while it is in contact with theimaging surface 316, the device 300 may include a light source 330within the housing 302. The light source 330 may direct light throughthe shaft 315 towards the light-directing feature 326, which in turndirects the light towards the imaging surface 316, thereby illuminatingthe user's finger and allowing the image-sensing element 324 to capturean image of the user's finger 301. The light source 330 may beconfigured to emit light of any suitable wavelength(s), based on theparticular type of light and/or electromagnetic radiation that theimage-sensing element 324 is configured to detect. For example, thelight source 330 may emit infrared radiation. The light source 330 (orany other suitable light source) may be integrated with any of thecrowns or devices described herein.

In some cases, the device 300 uses dark field illumination componentsand techniques for illuminating and imaging an object that is in contactwith the imaging surface 316. Such components may be integrated with thecrown 312 or otherwise positioned within the crown 312 or the housing302 as appropriate to provide suitable illumination and opticaldetection via the crown 312.

As noted above, the crown 312 may be rotationally constrained orrotationally free, and may also be axially fixed, or it may betranslatable along its axis to accept axial inputs. The crown 312 mayalso be coupled to or otherwise integrated with the housing 302 in anysuitable way. For example, the shaft 315 may extend into the housing 302through an opening 317. A sealing member 320, such as an elastomericmember or other material or component(s), may form a seal between theshaft 315 and the housing 302 to prevent ingress of liquids, debris, orother contaminants. The sealing member 320 may seal the opening 317while also allowing the crown 312 to move relative to the housing 302,if the crown 312 is configured to rotate and/or translate. In caseswhere the shaft 315 is rotationally constrained (e.g., rotationallyfixed or partially rotatable), it may still be able to translateaxially. As such, the sealing member 320 may seal the opening whileallowing the shaft 315 to move axially within the opening 317. In othercases, the shaft 315 may be fixed to the housing 302, such as withadhesive, welds, fusion bonds, or the like. In such cases the sealingmember 320 may be omitted.

As described with respect to FIG. 3, the crown 312 may be configured toredirect the light corresponding to an image of a user's finger from animaging surface onto an image-sensing element that is offset orotherwise not in line with the imaging surface. FIGS. 4A-4D illustratehow the image of the wearer's finger may appear on an image-sensingelement and how motion of the user's finger along an imaging surface maybe detected by an image sensor.

FIG. 4A shows an example electronic device 400 receiving an input from afinger 401. The device 400 may be an embodiment of the device 100, andmay include the same or similar components and may provide the same orsimilar functions as the device 100 (or any other wearable devicedescribed herein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100described above may apply to the device 400, and for brevity will not berepeated here. The device 400 may include a crown 412 (which may be anembodiment of the crown 312 or any other crown described herein). Asshown in FIG. 4A, which is a side view of the device 400, a portion 419of the finger 401 is in contact with an imaging surface 416 of the crown412. FIG. 4B shows an example image-sensing element 424 (which may be anembodiment of the image-sensing element 324, FIG. 3) with an image 426of the portion 419 of the finger 401. The image 426 (or light thatcorresponds to the image) may be directed onto the image-sensing element424 by the crown 412 along a path as indicated by the arrows 319, 321 inFIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D (and elsewhere in the figures), theimage-sensing element 424 is a square, though any other suitable shapemay be used, including circular, rectangular, oval, or the like.

In the configuration shown in FIGS. 4A-4D, the crown 412 may have animaging surface that extends around the entire periphery of the crown412. Accordingly, the image 426 is shown positioned along a top portionof the image-sensing element 424, resulting from the fact that theuser's finger 401 is in contact with a top-facing surface of the crown412. Were the user's finger 401 to be in contact with a bottom surfaceof the crown 412, for example, the image may be incident on a bottomportion of the image-sensing element 424.

FIGS. 4C and 4D show the electronic device 400 and image-sensing element424, respectively, after the finger 401 has moved forward (e.g., in thedirection of arrow 417). Notably, the portion 421 of the user's finger401 that is in contact with the imaging surface 416 has changed, thoughthe area of the image-sensing element 424 that receives the image 426has not changed. However, because the user's finger 401 has moved, thefeatures of the user's finger that are visible to the image-sensingelement 424 (e.g., the ridges or other features of the skin of thefinger 401) have moved. For example, feature 430, which may correspondto a ridge of a fingerprint, a texture of a fabric material of a glove,or the like, has moved along the image-sensing element 424. A processoror other component of an image sensor may analyze the image 426 and usefeatures such as the feature 430 to determine a speed and/or directionof motion of the user's finger, and the device 400 may use thatinformation to change or control an operation of the device 400 (e.g.,to move or scroll a graphical output on a display).

While FIGS. 4A-4D show a bare finger and a fingerprint, any other objector implement may be used in place of a bare finger. For example, if agloved finger is used to provide a gesture input to the crown 412, theimage sensor may use a feature of the material of the glove to determinea speed and/or direction of motion. Indeed, the image sensor maydetermine motion of any suitable object by analyzing a texture, surfaceirregularity, or some other optically detectable feature of the object.

A crown, and more particularly, a head of a crown, may also be shaped orconfigured to act as a lens to aid in the image sensing functionality ofa device. FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate how a lensing feature on a crown mayenable a device to reject or otherwise ignore images that do notcorrespond to a finger in contact with the crown. For example, a lensingfeature may be configured so that only objects in direct contact withthe crown are in sharp focus.

FIG. 5A, shows an example electronic device 500 receiving an input froma finger 501. The device 500 may be an embodiment of the device 100, andmay include the same or similar components and may provide the same orsimilar functions as the device 100 (or any other wearable devicedescribed herein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100described above may apply to the device 500, and for brevity will not berepeated here. The device 500 may include a crown 512 (which may be anembodiment of the crown 312 or any other crown described herein). Asshown in FIG. 5A, which is a side view of the device 500, a portion ofthe finger 501 is in contact with an imaging surface 516 of the crown512. FIG. 5B shows an example image-sensing element 524 (which may be anembodiment of the image-sensing element 324, FIG. 3) with an image 526of the finger 501. Under these conditions, the image 526 is in focus sothat the features of the user's finger 501 are clearly defined and theimage sensor can easily analyze the motion (if any) of the finger 501.

FIG. 5C shows the electronic device 500 with the finger 501 elevated adistance off of the imaging surface 516 (e.g., moved in a directionindicated by the arrow 517). The crown 512 may have a shape or featurethat acts as a lens so that objects that are not in direct contact with(or within a threshold distance of) the crown 512 are out of focus. Thethreshold distance may be about 0.1 mm, 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm, or anyother suitable distance. FIG. 5D shows a representation of anout-of-focus image 526. The image sensor may be able to ignore themotion of images that are not in focus, thereby preventing images fromthe surrounding environment from triggering inputs to the device. Insome cases, instead of or in addition to a lensing feature, the device500 may use a contact sensor to determine when an object is in contactwith the crown 512, and ignore image motion when there is nothingcontacting the crown 512.

As noted above, in some cases an optical crown as described herein maybe configured to detect axial inputs, such as a tap or press on an endsurface of the crown. FIG. 6A illustrates an example electronic device600 with an optical crown that incorporates both optical gesture sensing(as described above), as well as axial touch sensing.

The device 600 may be an embodiment of the device 100, and may includethe same or similar components and may provide the same or similarfunctions as the device 100 (or any other wearable device describedherein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100 described abovemay apply to the device 600, and for brevity will not be repeated here.The device 600 may include a crown 612 (which may be an embodiment ofthe crown 312 or any other crown described herein). The crown 612 mayinclude a head 613 and a shaft 615. The crown 612 may include alight-directing feature 626, which operates substantially the same asthe light-directing feature 626, and directs an image from an imagingsurface 616 towards an image-sensing element 624. The device may includea sealing member 620 between the shaft 615 and a housing 602, and theimage-sensing element 624 may be positioned on a support 622.

The crown 612 also includes an axial imaging surface 628. The axialimaging surface 628 may be configured to allow light corresponding to animage of an object in contact with an end surface of the crown 612 topass through the shaft 615 and onto the image-sensing element 624. Theimage sensor may be configured to determine, based on the image receivedon the image-sensing element 624, whether a user's finger (or otherobject) is in contact with the end surface of the head 613. In somecases, the axial imaging surface 628 may have a curvature or lensingfeature that operates similar to that described with respect to FIGS.5A-5D, so that only a finger or object that is actually in contact withthe end surface of the head 613 cause the image sensor to positivelyidentify an axial touch input.

FIG. 6B shows a representation of the image-sensing element 624, showingexample images 632, 634 corresponding to a gesture applied to aperipheral surface of the crown (image 632), and an axial touch input(image 634). As shown, the image 634 is positioned on a center of theimage-sensing element 624. Accordingly, the image sensor may beconfigured to analyze the center of the image-sensing element 624 todetermine when an axial touch input has been applied (e.g., by detectingan in-focus image of a user's finger), and to analyze the peripheralportion of the image-sensing element 624 to detect a gesture inputapplied to the peripheral surface of the crown 612. The device 600 maytake any suitable action in response to detecting an axial touch input,such as turning on or off the device (or a display of the device),selecting a user interface element being displayed on the display,activating or deactivating a device function, or the like.

In some cases, a light-directing feature may define a curved surfacethat not only directs light from an imaging surface onto animage-sensing element, but also adjusts, focuses, or otherwise modifiesthe image. FIG. 7 illustrates an example electronic device 700 with anoptical crown having a light-directing feature with a curved surface toboth redirect the light and modify the image of the user's finger.

The device 700 may be an embodiment of the device 100, and may includethe same or similar components and may provide the same or similarfunctions as the device 100 (or any other wearable device describedherein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100 described abovemay apply to the device 700, and for brevity will not be repeated here.The device 700 may include a crown 712 (which may be an embodiment ofthe crown 312 or any other crown described herein). The crown 712 mayinclude a head 713 and a shaft 715. The crown 712 may include alight-directing feature 726 that directs light from an imaging surface716 (e.g., reflected by a user's finger) to an image-sensing element724, as described above. The device 700 may include a sealing member 720between the shaft 715 and a housing 702, and the image-sensing element724 may be positioned on a support 722.

The light-directing feature 726 includes a curved surface 728. Thecurved surface 728 may be configured so that an angle of incidence ofthe light from an object (e.g., a user's finger) is equal to or greaterthan a critical angle of the interface defined by the curved surface728, thus producing total internal reflection of the light. Further, thecurved surface 728 may be configured to magnify the image so that theimage occupies a greater area of the image-sensing element 724. FIG. 7illustrates the magnification of the image by showing the rays 730, 732,734, and 736 diverging through the shaft 715.

As shown, the curved surface 728 is concave (e.g., as viewed from theexterior of the crown 712), though the curved surface 728 may have otherconfigurations and/or shapes, such as convex shapes, aspherical shapes,combination concave and convex shapes (e.g., having concave and convexregions), or the like. In some cases, the surface is not only curved,but has flat regions, stepped regions, or other complex geometries.

The crown 712 shown in FIG. 7 has an imaging surface along the entireperiphery of the head 713, and as such the curved surface 728 may beconfigured so that a magnified image does not extend past a midpoint ofthe image-sensing element 724. In examples where the imaging surfaceextends along less than the entire periphery, the image may be magnifiedto a greater extent. Thus, for example, a finger applied to the topportion of the head 713 may result in an image that occupies the entireimage-sensing element 724 (rather than less than half of theimage-sensing element, which may occur with a full-periphery imagingsurface).

The crowns shown in FIGS. 3-7 each have a shaft extending through anopening in a housing. In some cases, the shaft may be omitted, or thecrown may otherwise have a different configuration and/or integrationwith the housing. FIG. 8 illustrates an example electronic device 800with an optical crown 812 without a shaft. This configuration may haveadvantages such as easier or faster manufacturing, better environmentalsealing, or the like.

The device 800 may be an embodiment of the device 100, and may includethe same or similar components and may provide the same or similarfunctions as the device 100 (or any other wearable device describedherein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100 described abovemay apply to the device 800, and for brevity will not be repeated here.The device 800 may include a crown 812 (which may be an embodiment ofthe crown 312 or any other crown described herein). The crown 812 mayinclude a head 813. The crown 812 may include a light-directing feature826 that directs light from an imaging surface 816 to an image-sensingelement 824, as described above.

Instead of an internally mounted image-sensing element, the crown 812includes an image-sensing element 824 mounted on or otherwiseincorporated with the head 813. For example, the image-sensing element824 may be adhered to, encapsulated within, or mechanically fastened tothe head 313. In some cases, the image-sensing element 824 may be setinto a recess in the head 813. The light-directing feature 826 may stillbe configured to direct light from the imaging surface 816 onto theimage-sensing element 824, though the image will not need to passthrough a shaft.

Conductors 821 (e.g., wires, a flex connector, a conductive trace, oranother conductive component) may be coupled to the image-sensingelement 824 and may extend through an opening 817 in the housing 802,where they connect to a processor 820 or other component of an imagesensor that analyzes the images received and/or detected by theimage-sensing element 824.

In the device 800, both the head 813 and the image-sensing element 824are positioned outside of the interior volume of the device housing 802.This may simplify manufacture of the device 800. For example, becausethere is no shaft, the need for precise optical alignment between theshaft and the image-sensing element may be eliminated. Moreover, themating of the head 813 to the housing 802, as well as the smalleropening 817 that need only accommodate the conductors 821 (rather than acrown shaft), may allow for better sealing against liquid or otherdebris.

The head 813 may be attached to the housing 802 using adhesive, welding,mechanical fasteners, or the like. Where the head 813 is configured torotate and/or translate relative to the housing 802, the head 813 may beattached to the housing 802 with bearings, bushings, guides, or othersuitable components.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example electronic device 900 with an opticalcrown 912 with a cover member over an end surface of the crown. Thedevice 900 may be an embodiment of the device 100, and may include thesame or similar components and may provide the same or similar functionsas the device 100 (or any other wearable device described herein).Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100 described above mayapply to the device 900, and for brevity will not be repeated here. Thedevice 900 may include a crown 912 (which may be an embodiment of thecrown 312 or any other crown described herein). The crown 912 mayinclude a head 913 and a shaft 915. The crown 912 may include alight-directing feature 926 that directs light from an imaging surface916 to an image-sensing element 924, as described above. The device 900may include a sealing member 920 between the shaft 915 and a housing902, and the image-sensing element 924 may be positioned on a support922.

In FIG. 9, the crown 912 also includes a cover member 928 attached tothe end of the head 913. The cover member 928, which may also resembleand/or be referred to as a cap, may cover and protect thelight-directing feature 926, and may provide a cosmetic exterior surfaceto the crown 912. The cover member 928 may be formed of any suitablematerial, such as plastic, sapphire, metal, gemstones, ceramic, or thelike. In cases where the crown 912 includes an axial touch sensingsystem, as described above, the cover member 928 or a portion thereofmay be light-transmissive to allow the axial touch sensing system tooperate. The cover member 928 may be attached to the crown 912 in anysuitable manner, including welding, adhesives, mechanical fastenersand/or interlocks, soldering, brazing, or the like. The cover member928, and more particularly a peripheral surface of the cover member 928,may be substantially flush with the cylindrical peripheral surface ofthe head 913.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example electronic device 1000 with an opticalcrown 1012. The device 1000 may be an embodiment of the device 100, andmay include the same or similar components and may provide the same orsimilar functions as the device 100 (or any other wearable devicedescribed herein). Accordingly, details of the wearable device 100described above may apply to the device 1000, and for brevity will notbe repeated here. The device 1000 may include a crown 1012 (which may bean embodiment of the crown 312 or any other crown described herein). Thecrown 1012 may include a head 1013 and a shaft 1015. The crown 1012 mayinclude a light-directing feature 1026 that directs light from animaging surface 1016 to an image-sensing element 1024, as describedabove. The device 1000 may include a sealing member 1020 between theshaft 1015 and a housing 1002, and the image-sensing element 1024 may bepositioned on a support 1022.

The device 1000 also includes a force sensing component 1028. The forcesensing component 1028 may be configured to detect axial and/ortranslational inputs applied to the crown 1012, as described above. Asshown, the force sensing component 1028 is a dome switch, which mayprovide both an input detection and a tactile output function. Forexample, when an axial force exceeding a collapse threshold of the domeswitch is applied to the crown 1012, the dome switch may abruptlycollapse, which both closes an electrical contact (thereby allowing thedevice to register the input), and produces a tactile “click” or othertactile output that may be felt by the user. In other cases, the forcesensing component 1028 may be a force sensor that is configured toproduce an electrical response that corresponds to an amount of force(e.g., axial force) applied to the crown 1012. The electrical responsemay increase continuously as the amount of applied force increases, andas such may provide non-binary force sensing.

As described above, an imaging surface may be defined along an entireperipheral surface of a crown, or along only a portion of a peripheralsurface. FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate example crowns in which theimaging surface extends along less than the entire peripheral surface.FIG. 11A, for example, shows an example device 1100 (which may be anembodiment of the device 100, and may include the same or similarcomponents and may provide the same or similar functions as the device100) with a crown 1102. An imaging surface 1104 may extend along lessthan the entire peripheral surface of the crown 1102. As shown, theportion of the crown 1102 that faces or is nearest a user's wrist whenthe device is being worn may not be part of the imaging surface 1104.This may help prevent false inputs from being detected due to movementof the device 1100 relative to the user's wrist (e.g., as may occurduring jostling or other normal use conditions).

FIG. 11B shows an example device 1110 (which may be an embodiment of thedevice 100, and may include the same or similar components and mayprovide the same or similar functions as the device 100) with a crown1112. The crown 1112 defines several imaging surfaces, which may also bedescribed as an imaging surface having several discrete segments. Forexample, an imaging surface 1114 may extend along a top portion of thecrown 1112, while imaging surfaces 1114 and 1118 extend along sideportions of the crown 1112. The crown 1112 may not capture images in theareas between adjacent imaging surfaces.

In FIGS. 11A-11B, the imaging surfaces may be defined bylight-transmissive windows set into an otherwise opaque head. Forexample, windows of glass, plastic, ceramic, sapphire, or othermaterials may be inset into a head of metal, plastic, or other opaquematerial.

FIG. 12 depicts an example schematic diagram of an electronic device1200. By way of example, the device 1200 of FIG. 12 may correspond tothe wearable electronic device 100 shown in FIGS. 1A-1B (or any otherwearable electronic device described herein). To the extent thatmultiple functionalities, operations, and structures are disclosed asbeing part of, incorporated into, or performed by the device 1200, itshould be understood that various embodiments may omit any or all suchdescribed functionalities, operations, and structures. Thus, differentembodiments of the device 1200 may have some, none, or all of thevarious capabilities, apparatuses, physical features, modes, andoperating parameters discussed herein.

As shown in FIG. 12, a device 1200 includes a processing unit 1202operatively connected to computer memory 1204 and/or computer-readablemedia 1206. The processing unit 1202 may be operatively connected to thememory 1204 and computer-readable media 1206 components via anelectronic bus or bridge. The processing unit 1202 may include one ormore computer processors or microcontrollers that are configured toperform operations in response to computer-readable instructions. Theprocessing unit 1202 may include the central processing unit (CPU) ofthe device. Additionally or alternatively, the processing unit 1202 mayinclude other processors within the device including applicationspecific integrated chips (ASIC) and other microcontroller devices.

The memory 1204 may include a variety of types of non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media, including, for example, read accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable memory(e.g., EPROM and EEPROM), or flash memory. The memory 1204 is configuredto store computer-readable instructions, sensor values, and otherpersistent software elements. Computer-readable media 1206 also includesa variety of types of non-transitory computer-readable storage mediaincluding, for example, a hard-drive storage device, a solid-statestorage device, a portable magnetic storage device, or other similardevice. The computer-readable media 1206 may also be configured to storecomputer-readable instructions, sensor values, and other persistentsoftware elements.

In this example, the processing unit 1202 is operable to readcomputer-readable instructions stored on the memory 1204 and/orcomputer-readable media 1206. The computer-readable instructions mayadapt the processing unit 1202 to perform the operations or functionsdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 1A-11B. In particular, theprocessing unit 1202, the memory 1204, and/or the computer-readablemedia 1206 may be configured to cooperate with a sensor 1224 (e.g., animage sensor that detects input gestures applied to an imaging surfaceof a crown) to control the operation of a device in response to an inputapplied to a crown of a device (e.g., the crown 112). Thecomputer-readable instructions may be provided as a computer-programproduct, software application, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 12, the device 1200 also includes a display 1208. Thedisplay 1208 may include a liquid-crystal display (LCD), organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display, light emitting diode (LED) display, orthe like. If the display 1208 is an LCD, the display 1208 may alsoinclude a backlight component that can be controlled to provide variablelevels of display brightness. If the display 1208 is an OLED or LED typedisplay, the brightness of the display 1208 may be controlled bymodifying the electrical signals that are provided to display elements.The display 1208 may correspond to any of the displays shown ordescribed herein.

The device 1200 may also include a battery 1209 that is configured toprovide electrical power to the components of the device 1200. Thebattery 1209 may include one or more power storage cells that are linkedtogether to provide an internal supply of electrical power. The battery1209 may be operatively coupled to power management circuitry that isconfigured to provide appropriate voltage and power levels forindividual components or groups of components within the device 1200.The battery 1209, via power management circuitry, may be configured toreceive power from an external source, such as an AC power outlet. Thebattery 1209 may store received power so that the device 1200 mayoperate without connection to an external power source for an extendedperiod of time, which may range from several hours to several days.

In some embodiments, the device 1200 includes one or more input devices1210. An input device 1210 is a device that is configured to receiveuser input. The one or more input devices 1210 may include, for example,a push button, a touch-activated button, a keyboard, a key pad, or thelike (including any combination of these or other components). In someembodiments, the input device 1210 may provide a dedicated or primaryfunction, including, for example, a power button, volume buttons, homebuttons, scroll wheels, and camera buttons. Generally, a touch sensor ora force sensor may also be classified as an input device. However, forpurposes of this illustrative example, the touch sensor 1220 and a forcesensor 1222 are depicted as distinct components within the device 1200.

The device 1200 may also include a sensor 1224 that detects inputsprovided by a user to a crown of the device (e.g., the crown 112). Asdescribed above, the sensor 1224 may include sensing circuitry and othersensing elements that facilitate sensing of gesture inputs applied to animaging surface of a crown, as well as other types of inputs applied tothe crown (e.g., rotational inputs, translational or axial inputs, axialtouches, or the like). The sensor 1224 may include an optical sensingelement, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), complementarymetal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), or the like. The sensor 1224 maycorrespond to any sensors described herein or that may be used toprovide the sensing functions described herein.

The device 1200 may also include a touch sensor 1220 that is configuredto determine a location of a touch on a touch-sensitive surface of thedevice 1200 (e.g., an input surface defined by the portion of a cover108 over a display 109). The touch sensor 1220 may use or includecapacitive sensors, resistive sensors, surface acoustic wave sensors,piezoelectric sensors, strain gauges, or the like. In some cases, thetouch sensor 1220 associated with a touch-sensitive surface of thedevice 1200 may include a capacitive array of electrodes or nodes thatoperate in accordance with a mutual-capacitance or self-capacitancescheme. The touch sensor 1220 may be integrated with one or more layersof a display stack (e.g., the display 109) to provide the touch-sensingfunctionality of a touchscreen. Moreover, the touch sensor 1220, or aportion thereof, may be used to sense motion of a user's finger as itslides along a surface of a crown, as described herein.

The device 1200 may also include a force sensor 1222 that is configuredto receive and/or detect force inputs applied to a user input surface ofthe device 1200 (e.g., the display 109). The force sensor 1222 may useor include capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, surface acoustic wavesensors, piezoelectric sensors, strain gauges, or the like. In somecases, the force sensor 1222 may include or be coupled to capacitivesensing elements that facilitate the detection of changes in relativepositions of the components of the force sensor (e.g., deflectionscaused by a force input). The force sensor 1222 may be integrated withone or more layers of a display stack (e.g., the display 109) to provideforce-sensing functionality of a touchscreen.

The device 1200 may also include a communication port 1228 that isconfigured to transmit and/or receive signals or electricalcommunication from an external or separate device. The communicationport 1228 may be configured to couple to an external device via a cable,adaptor, or other type of electrical connector. In some embodiments, thecommunication port 1228 may be used to couple the device 1200 to anaccessory, including a dock or case, a stylus or other input device,smart cover, smart stand, keyboard, or other device configured to sendand/or receive electrical signals.

As described above, one aspect of the present technology is thegathering and use of data available from various sources to facilitatethe detection of inputs to an electronic device. The present disclosurecontemplates that in some instances, this gathered data may includepersonal information data that uniquely identifies or can be used tocontact or locate a specific person. Such personal information data caninclude biometric data (e.g., fingerprints), demographic data,location-based data, telephone numbers, email addresses, twitter ID's,home addresses, data or records relating to a user's health or level offitness (e.g., vital signs measurements, medication information,exercise information), date of birth, or any other identifying orpersonal information.

The present disclosure contemplates that the entities responsible forthe collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use ofsuch personal information data will comply with well-established privacypolicies and/or privacy practices. In particular, such entities shouldimplement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining personal information data private andsecure. Such policies should be easily accessible by users, and shouldbe updated as the collection and/or use of data changes. Personalinformation from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonableuses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimateuses. Further, such collection/sharing should occur after receiving theinformed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities shouldconsider taking any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access tosuch personal information data and ensuring that others with access tothe personal information data adhere to their privacy policies andprocedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluationby third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacypolicies and practices. In addition, policies and practices should beadapted for the particular types of personal information data beingcollected and/or accessed and adapted to applicable laws and standards,including jurisdiction-specific considerations. For instance, in the US,collection of or access to certain health data may be governed byfederal and/or state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability andAccountability Act (HIPAA); whereas health data in other countries maybe subject to other regulations and policies and should be handledaccordingly. Hence different privacy practices should be maintained fordifferent personal data types in each country.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, users candeactivate input detection using imaging techniques that may capture oruse biometric information (e.g., fingerprints, skin features, etc.). Inaddition to providing “opt in” and “opt out” options, the presentdisclosure contemplates providing notifications relating to the accessor use of personal information. For instance, a user may be notifiedupon downloading an app that their personal information data will beaccessed and then reminded again just before personal information datais accessed by the app.

Moreover, it is the intent of the present disclosure that personalinformation data should be managed and handled in a way to minimizerisks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use. Risk can beminimized by limiting the collection of data and deleting data once itis no longer needed. In addition, and when applicable, including incertain health related applications, data de-identification can be usedto protect a user's privacy. De-identification may be facilitated, whenappropriate, by removing specific identifiers (e.g., date of birth,etc.), controlling the amount or specificity of data stored (e.g.,collecting location data a city level rather than at an address level),controlling how data is stored (e.g., aggregating data across users),and/or other methods.

Therefore, although the present disclosure broadly covers use ofpersonal information data to implement one or more various disclosedembodiments, the present disclosure also contemplates that the variousembodiments can also be implemented without the need for accessing suchpersonal information data. That is, the various embodiments of thepresent technology are not rendered inoperable due to the lack of all ora portion of such personal information data. For example, gesture inputsapplied to a crown with an object other than a finger, or with a glovedfinger, may be operable to control the operation of an electronicdevice. Further, the functionality described herein may be providewithout requiring any persistent storage of personal information. Forexample, images of a user's finger that are captured by an image sensormay be analyzed and then discarded immediately after the necessarymotion information has been determined.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specificembodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustrationand description. They are not targeted to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the above teachings. Also, when used herein to referto positions of components, the terms above and below, or theirsynonyms, do not necessarily refer to an absolute position relative toan external reference, but instead refer to the relative position ofcomponents with reference to the figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic watch comprising: a housingdefining a side surface of the electronic watch; a transparent covercoupled to the housing and defining a front surface of the electronicwatch; an image-sensing element; and a crown extending from the sidesurface of the electronic watch and defining an imaging surface, thecrown comprising a light-directing feature configured to direct, ontothe image-sensing element, an image of an object in contact with theimaging surface.
 2. The electronic watch of claim 1, wherein: theelectronic watch further comprises: a display positioned at leastpartially within the housing and configured to display a graphicaloutput; and a touch sensor positioned below the transparent cover andconfigured to detect touch inputs applied to the transparent cover; thecrown comprises: a head having a light-transmissive portion defining theimaging surface; and a light-transmissive shaft configured to receivelight from the light-directing feature and configured to guide the lightto the image-sensing element; and the electronic watch is configured tomodify the graphical output in accordance with a movement of the objectalong the imaging surface.
 3. The electronic watch of claim 2, whereinthe head and the light-transmissive shaft are portions of a monolithiclight-transmissive member.
 4. The electronic watch of claim 2, whereinthe light-transmissive portion is transparent to infrared radiation andopaque to visible light.
 5. The electronic watch of claim 1, wherein thelight-directing feature comprises an interface between a first materialand a second material, the interface configured to reflect incidentlight.
 6. The electronic watch of claim 5, wherein: the interfacebetween the first material and the second material is at least partiallydefined by an angled surface; and the angled surface causes the incidentlight to be reflected towards the image-sensing element.
 7. Theelectronic watch of claim 6, wherein: the first material is alight-transmissive solid; and the second material is air.
 8. A wearableelectronic device comprising: a housing; a display positioned at leastpartially within the housing; a crown at least partially external to thehousing and defining an imaging surface along a peripheral portion ofthe crown; and an image-sensing element within the housing andconfigured to receive an image of an object in contact with the imagingsurface.
 9. The wearable electronic device of claim 8, wherein the crowncomprises a light-transmissive member defining an angled surfaceconfigured to direct light from the imaging surface to the image-sensingelement.
 10. The wearable electronic device of claim 9, wherein theangled surface has an angle configured to produce total internalreflection of the light.
 11. The wearable electronic device of claim 9,further comprising a reflective material on the angled surface.
 12. Thewearable electronic device of claim 9, wherein the light-transmissivemember at least partially defines: a head of the crown; and a shaft ofthe crown.
 13. The wearable electronic device of claim 8, furthercomprising a light source at least partially within the housing andconfigured to illuminate the object.
 14. The wearable electronic deviceof claim 8, wherein the imaging surface is defined by a semi-transparentmirror coating.
 15. An electronic watch comprising: a housing; a displaypositioned at least partially within the housing; an image sensor atleast partially within the housing and comprising an image-sensingelement; and a crown comprising: a head portion defining an imagingsurface external to the housing; a shaft portion extending at leastpartially into the housing; and a reflective feature directing lightfrom the imaging surface through the shaft portion and towards theimage-sensing element.
 16. The electronic watch of claim 15, wherein thereflective feature comprises a curved surface configured to magnify animage of an object in contact with the imaging surface.
 17. Theelectronic watch of claim 16, wherein the curved surface defines aninterface between the head portion and air.
 18. The electronic watch ofclaim 15, wherein the crown further comprises a cover member coupled toan end of the head portion.
 19. The electronic watch of claim 18,wherein: the head portion defines a cylindrical peripheral surface; anda peripheral surface of the cover member is flush with the cylindricalperipheral surface of the head portion.
 20. The electronic watch ofclaim 15, further comprising: a transparent cover covering the display;and a sensor configured to detect touch events applied to thetransparent cover.